Coin-controlled lock



March 18, 1930. A. GABRIEL COIN CONTROLLED LOCK Filed June 11, 1926 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

a M 2m fig WW March IS, 1930. I A. GABRIEL 1,751,144

C'OIN CONTROLLED LOCK Filed June 11. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i; g wkbq ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 18, 1930 ALPHONSE GABRIEL, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIACOIN-CONTROLLED LOCK Application filed June 11, 1926. Serial No.115,223.

My invention relates to a door-lock which is arranged to be renderedoperable by and upon the deposit of a coin, or the like, therein, andparticularly to locks in which the coin itself is utilized in providingdirect operative connection between the latch bolt and the latchoperating means.

An object of the invention is to provide a lock of the class describedhaving means arranged to prevent the insertion of a second coin while afirst coin is operatively disposed in the lock.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coin-controlled lockwithmeans per- 1 mitting the operative insertion of a coin thereinonly whenthe various operative parts are in a particular position.

A further object of the invention is to pro vide a lock of the classdescribed in which the operative parts may assume their particular coinreceiving relation without regard to the positioning of the latchboltwith respect thereto. v x v The invention possesses other objectsand features ofadvantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be setforth in the following description of the preferred form of my inventionwhich is illustrated in the draw.- ings accompanying and forming part ofthe specification. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself tothe showing made by the said drawings and description, as I may adoptvariations of the preferred form within the scope of my invention as setforth in the claims.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side sectional view of a lock embodying my invention. I V

Figure 2 is a side view of the lock,portions thereof being broken awayto disclose certain parts disposed in difierent operative re-' lationthan in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 in Figure 1, themounting of the lock on a door also being shown.

'Figure 4 is an edge view of the lock installed on a door.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 in Figure 1.-

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66'in Figure 1.

As illustrated in the drawings, the lock 7 of my invention comprises alatch plate 8 I carrying a latch bolt 9, and means independentlyoperable from different sides of the door for actuating the latch-plateto withdraw the bolt, one of said means being coincontrolled. The lockmechanism, it will be noted, is here shown mounted on a plate 116%arranged to be secured directly to a door 12, which plate convenientlyserves as part of the lock housing. Movement of the latch-plate is hereshown arranged to be accomplished from the outer side of the door uponthe appropriate manipulation of a spindle 13 which carries a member 14having an arm 16 ex tending radially therefrom, which latter is directlyutilized in efiecting the movement of w t e the latch plate. Thelatch-plate 8, it will now be noted, is mounted for reciprocation above'the spindle 13 in suitable guideways provided in the plate 11 and aplate 17, which latter plate is arranged to be held in fixed opposedrelationto the plate 11 by means of cooperating spacing posts 18 andscrew bolts 19. Furthermore, the latch plate is vertically slotted atits inner end to provide a space 21 in which the arm 16 is arranged tobenormally permitted 8 to freely oscillate without effecting anymovement of the latch-plate. The latcheplate por tions 22 which providethe side walls of the space 21 are provided with opposed vertical: 1ydisposed slots 23 of such depth that to-, gether they define a guidewayfor a coin of the denomination to be used in the lock. When, as hereshown, a coin 24 is disposed in the slots 23, it will be obvious thatthe rotation of the arm '16 from a position forwardly of the coin willcause it to engage the latter, and that further rotation of the arm willcause the retractive movement of the latch-plate through the engagementof opposite portionsof the coin against the rear ward edges of slots 23.In this manner, the coin itself is actually utilized as an operativepart of the lock, since without it the retrac tion of the latch-plate bymeans of arm 16 is impossible. Then arm 16,.it'Wi11 be noted,

0 coin in the lock mechanism will allow the reis arranged to be normallyheld positioned forwardly of the coin slots 23 by means of asuitablespring 27 operatively connecting the j member 14'to a point onthe plate 11 forwardly of said member, the forward movement of the armbeing limited by its contact Y with the forward wall 28zdefining thespace 21, so that theiarm -16 will thus normallylie in fixed relation tothe latch-plate.

Means are provided for holding the coin in proper operative position inthe slots 23, during the oscillation of the arm, and, as here shown,such means comprise the provision of a shoulder or seat 29 at the baseof the arm 16 so disposed that the lower edge of the coin will rest ,andbe held thereon when the gcoin is properly positioned in the slots.- Inthe manner, movement -of the arm toward the coin will not dislodge thelatter and operation of the latch in, the mannerspecified is assured. Y

Since 1n locks of the class described it is usually desirable that theuse of .a, different a coin be required each .timethe door is opened,means are provided for releasing the coin fromits positioni-nthe slotsto permit the de- "slopes rearwardly and downwardly, so that when thearm 32 retracts the latch-plate to take up the lost motion provided, the.coin will slide downwardly from its seat and out of theslots. In thismanner, the placingof a traction of the bolt by the operation of thespindle13 from the outside of the door, while the operation of thespindle-31 to cause the retraction of the latch-plate will not only Iopen thedoor but will simultaneously release any coin which may be'operativel-y disposed in the latch-plate. I V

Means are provided for guiding a coin to its proper position in theslots 23 when the latch-plate is in its forward position. As

her-e shown, such means comprises the provision of members34 formedintegral vwlth the plate llan-d extending outwardly therefrom above thelatch-plate, such members delining a guideway 36 between them which isaligned with the slots 23 when the latter are in normal position, thelower edge of such guideway being adjacent the latch plate. Pivotallymounted on the rear-most member 34' for free movement about a horizontalaxis is a member 37 so shaped and mounted that the lower end 38 thereofnormally projects into the plane of slots '23 and guideway 36, while theupper portion 39 lies outside of-said plane. \Vhen, however, a coin ispositioned in the slots, the pivotal displacement of the lower end ofmember 37 by the coin is arranged to cause the upper end39 to moveacross an end of the guideway 36 and so prevent the insertion of asecond coin therein. By providing onthe arm 16 a pin 42 which extendsinto the planeof movement of the member 37 the latter may be caused tomove to close the guideway 36 to a coin upon displacement of the arm16=upon rotation of the sp e-c Means are also provided for barring theinsertion of a coin or other object through the guideway '36 andbehindthe arm 16 when the latter is positioned .rearwardly .of theplaneof the guide'way -as by the turning of thespindle with or withoutacoin operatively disposed in thelock. As here shown, such meanscomprises a projection 43 extending i tangentially forwardly. from theend of the the-lower end of the guideway 36 when "the arm isin-theposition stated. ,In this manner, in the event that the -spindle13is rotated arm and arranged to extend across and under. i

prior to the insertion of acoinj in the guide way, the deliberate oraccidental holding of the latch-plate in withdrawn positionby theinsertion of such coin orother foreignobjeet through the guideway ispositively prevented, t being noted that the projection 43 is preferablysopositioned and of such width as tocompletely coverthe arm 16.- In thismanner, a coin or-other object inserted while I the arm 16 lies directlybelow or back of the gu1deway3'6 will merely .rideon'thei-top of the proection 43 and so will'be3kept outozfithe operat1ve mechanism. a r

A casing 44 for the structure hereinbefore describedis provided, saidcasing :being here I shownof one-piecestructure and havingedge and'frontpplate portions46 and. 47 respec-' tlvely which cooperate withthe, back plate 11 .to provide a complete closure for the lockmechanism. As here shown, the casing front 47 is provided with a door49arranged to be locked shut, and is secured to the plate 11 by means ofscrew bolts 50 whose heads are preferably exposed only upon-removal ofthe door 49. In this'manner, a coin box is provlded below the lockmechanism and the mountin gand dismounting of the lock is possibleonlywhen the door 49 is open. A slot 51 at the top of the casing isproyided to permit the dropping of a .coin in the guideway 36, while thelatch bolt is arranged to be reciprocated through an edge perforation52. It will be noted that this structure pe r red mits the unitaryassembly of the lock mechanism on the plate 11 independently of thecasing 44. e

The latch bolt 9, it will now be noted, is here shown mounted in acavity 53 provided in the outer end ofthe latch plate and is slidablyengaged in suchcavity, being urged to maintain an outward positiontherein by reason of a spring 54 engaged between it and the inner end ofthe cavity. In this manner, prying back of the latch bolt does noteffect the movement of the latch plate, while preventing the completeoutward movement of the bolt does not interfere with the normallyaligned positioning of the gui'deway 36 and slots 23. To permit the useof the lock for either inward or outward swinging doors, the bolt ispreferably reversible in its socket, and is adapted to be held thereinby means of a stop pin 56 which is arranged to be reciprocated in a slot57 and to be set in either side of the bolt, it being noted thatreversal of the bolt is thus made possible without involving thedismounting of the lock.

As here shown the spindle .13 is operable by means of a knob 58 fixedthereto at thev front of the door, while the spindle 31 is arranged tobe operated from the inside of the door by a knob 59, so that droppingof the coin is thus insured upon the opening of the door to efi'ect anexit. If desired, the opera tion of the spindle 31 may also be efiectedfrom the outside of the door by the use of a suitable key, the casingbeing here shown provided with a suitable keyway 61 for the purpose.

To further insure the normally forward positioning of the latch plate,and to hold the coin and arm 16 in contact during operative oscillationof the arm, a compression spring 61 is preferably interposed between theinner end of the latch plate and the adjacent casing side 46, whileundue backward movement of the arm 16 is here shown prevented byproviding the member 14 with a second arm 62 which is arranged to engagea post 18 when the arm 16 lies at its desired backward position.

Further protection against tampering is here shown provided by formingthe casing with a guard flange 63 which extends beyond the protrudingportion of the latch bolt on three sides thereof. Furthermore, areinforcing plate 64 is preferably secured to the plate 11 adjacent theopening 52, such plate being here shown arranged to define the rearwardside of the cavity 53 and providing at its inner end the necessary stopby which the outward movement of the latch plate is limited.

It will be noted that, as herein particularly shown and described,positioning the axis of the spindle 13 in the plane of the coin slots23, making the parts reversible, and providing for a suitable change ofmounting, have provided a lock adapted for mounting either on right orleft hand doors without involving any alteration of the parts of theoperative mechanism thereof.

It will now be obvious that a lock has been provided which isparticularly valuable for use in the doors of pay toilets or the like,and

that, with the coin used as part of the -op-' erating mechanism,provision has been made to insure its positive functioning at all times.And it will be further noted that particularly effective means areprovided for preventing tampering with the lock by unauthorized personsor the insertion of a coin in the operative mechanism thereof, when suchinsertion will not render the lock operative.

I claim: 1. In a door look, a vertically perforated latch plate havingspaced side walls pro vided with upstanding slots to receive acoin andto hold the same with its face at substantially a right angle to thedirection of travel of the latch plate, resilient means to project thelatch plate, an arm pivotally supported beneath the latch plate andhaving its free end projecting into the perforation and arranged betweenthe side walls to engage the face of the coin, and a shoulder carried bythe arm and arranged to engage the lower edge of the coin to support thesame.

2. In a coin-controlled lock mechanism,

movable bolt, means operative to displace said bolt, bolt operatingmeans independent of said first means and normally inoperative todisplace said bolt, means utilizinga coin to operatively connect saidsecond means with said bolt, means normally operative to retain a coinoperatively disposed in the mechanism following a displacement of thebolt through the actuation of said second bolt operating means, meansoperable upon operative actuation of said first bolt displacing means torelease the coin from the mechanism, and a pivoted guard member arrangedto be engaged, moved and maintained in position to prevent the insertionof a coin into the mechanism, by a coin held by said retaining means,and means carried by the second 'bolt operating means for engaging andmoving the guard member into'operative p0si-' tion when the said secondmeans is operated without a coin in the mechanism.

3. In a door look a vertically perforated latch plate having slots onopposite sides of the perforation for the passage of. coin through saidperforation, means resiliently urging the latch plate to maintain anormally projected position, a pivotally mounted arm arranged to bemoved in said perforation into engagement with a coin held in saidslots, a shoulder on said arm releasably supporting the coin in saidslots, and a guard member arranged to be engaged by the coin held insaid slots and to be held by such engagement in position to prevent theinsertion of a coin into the mechanism.

4. In a door look a vertically perforated latch plate having slots onopposite sides of the perforation for the passage of coin arrangedto bemoved in said perforation into engagement With a coin held in saidslots, a shoulder on said arm releasably supporting the coin in saidslots, a guard member ary rangedto be engaged by the coin held in saidslots and to be held by such engagement in position to prevent theinsertion of a coin into the mechanism, and a member on said armarranged to engage and move the guard into operative position When thearm is moved in said perforation- While no coin is held in said slots,and being inoperative when a coin is present in said slots. 7

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of June,1926.

ALPHONSE GABRIEL.

